Detachable power auger assembly

ABSTRACT

A portable power auger attachment designed for boring holes in ice for fishermen is provided which is adapted to be connected to a portable power source, as for example the gasoline engine of a snowmobile. The auger comprises a flexible shaft, means for coupling one end of the shaft to the power source, and an auger blade assembly connected to the other end of the shaft including an auger blade mounted in a tubular support and having a housing axially slidable on said support serving as a guide and protective guard for the blade assembly.

United States Patent Baker [451 May 16, 1972 [54] DETACHABLE POWER AUGER2,393,282 1/1946 Berlin ..l75/l8 ASSEMBLY 2,625,835 l/l953 Marek....l73/l40 2,745,653 5/1956 Deason .173 140 X Inventor: C. Baker,Hawthorn Road, I 3 Snider 8 Marshall, Mich. 49068 [22] Filed; Jul 6,1970 Primary Examiner-Joseph H. McGlynn Assistant ExaminerRichard E.Favreau [21] Appl 52539 Attorney-Roy A. Plant [52] U.S. Cl ..175/l8,173/26 ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. ..F25c 5/04 A portable power augerattachment designed for bonng holes [58] Field ofSearch .ll75/207, 2l 1,11225256, in ice for fishermen is provided which is adapted to be com Inected to a portable power source, as for example the gasoline engine ofa snowmobile. The auger comprises a flexible shaft, [56] ReferencesCited means for coupling one end of the shaft to the power source, n-STATES PATENTS and an auger blade assembly connected to the other end ofthe shaft including an auger blade mounted in a tubular support2,723,835 1 H1955 Reese et al 175/1 8 and having a housing axiauySlidable on said Support Serving as 2,576,199 1 H1951 Vogel 173/140 X aguide and protective guard for the blade assembly. 2,991,838 7/1961 Lanet 175/220 630,865 8/1899 Dalbey 175/18 X 5Ciaims,5 Drawing Figures II Ii i /F /9 1 I Z7 z l \22 4f 11% Y 1% Z5 29 3 KL 3/ 1 $1 PATENTEDMAY 16m2 SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR EDWARD C. BAKER ATTORNEY P A'TENTKDMAY 16 amSHEET 2 [)F 2 EDWARD C. BAKER ATTORNEY 1 DETACIIABLE POWER AUGERASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Ice fishing has become an extremelypopular winter sport. In order to fish through the ice, it is necessaryto provide a hole through which to lower the fishing line. In the past,this has been done byprimitively chopping a hole in the ice with an axeor a bar. In some cases hand-operated augers have been utilized. Morerecently, ice boring 'tools have been provided utilizing'an augerpowered by a self-contained gasoline engine. Such devices are veryexpensive when considered in the light of the small amount of operatingtime during which the device is used for. the ordinary sports fisherman.Moreover, such devices are extremely-heavy and bulky and difficult tomanipulate and transport to the desired location.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to apparatus forboring holes in ice, and more particularlyrefers to an attachmentincluding an auger boring blade, which attachment is adapted to beconnect'ed to an available power source.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improvedpower-driven device for cutting holes in ice.

It is another object to provide a power-driven device for cutting holesin ice which is relatively. light and easy to manipulate.

It is further an object to provide a device of the type described in'theform of an attachment which may be utilized in conjunction with commonlyavailable power sources which may be normally brought to the fishingsite.

' It is an additional object to provide an ice boring device having aguide for properly positioning and protecting the cutting blade.

It is still a further object to provide an ice boring device of the typedescribed which is relatively simple and inexpensive to produce.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds. V 1

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then, consists of the ice boring device herein fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawings and the,following description setting forth in detail a certain illustrativeembodiment of the invention, such disclosed embodiment illustrating,however, one of the various ways in which the principle of the inventionmay be used. I

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS the apparatus as taken along lineIII-III of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus as taken along lineIV-IV of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view as taken along line VV ofFIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. I, an iceboring attachment according to the invention is shown. The devicecomprises a flexible rotary drive shaft 11 having an outersheath an aninner drive cable, of the type generally available on the market, and aguide assembly 12. The guide assembly comprises a tubular guide,

support or pipe 13, and a housing assembly 14 comprising a tube 15slidably mounted over the tubular guide 13, a cylindrical housing 16,and support rods 17 affixed at one end to the guide 13 by means of welds18, and at the other end to the cylindrical housing 16 by means of welds19 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4). As a result the housing assembly is axiallyslidable over the guide 13. The stationary sheath of the flexible rotarydrive shaft 11 is affixed at one end to the tubular guide 13 by means ofa coupling 20 and washer 21, FIGS. 1 and 3. A drive shaft 22, FIG. 2, isrotatably disposed within the tubular guide 13 and supported by oilitebearings 23 and 24, FIG. 3. The end of the drive shaft 22 is operativelyconnected to the central drive cable (not shown) of the flexible rotarydrive shaft 1 1.

At the'lo'wer end of the drive shaft 22 is an auger blade assembly 25comprising an inverted U-shaped or supporting yolk 26 aflixed to thedrive shaft 22 by means of a weld 27 (FIGS; 2, 3 and 4). A pair ofsemicircular auger blades 28 and 29 are affixed to the ends of thesupporting yolk 26 by welds 30 and 31, FIG. 4. The blades 28 and 29 arepreferably provided with sawteeth 32 and 33' at their leading or cuttingedges, the blades being adapted to revolve counterclockwise when viewedin a downward direction (FIGS. 2 and 4).

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the device of the present invention is shownconnected to the engine of a snowmobile 34. The flexible rotary driveshaft 11 is connected by means of a coupling 35 which extends through anopening in the protective housing 36 of the snowmobile 34, and comprisesa female member in the form of a cylindrical cup 37 having a hole 38provided at its bottom, the cup 37 being affixed to the drive shaft 39by means of a nut 40 engaging the threaded end 41 of the drive shaft.The cylindrical cup 37 may be left permanently affixed to the driveshaft and does not interfere with the proper operation of the snowmobileengine. If desired a cap or plug (not shown) may be afiixed to thecup'37 for physical protection of the operator or other persons. Thecylindrical cup 37 is provided with a cam slot 42 at its lip. The malemember of the coupling comprises a plug 43 affixed to the end of thedrive cable (not shown) of the flexible rotary drive shaft 11, and isprovided with a follower pin 44 adapted to engage the cam slot 42.Although a cam lock type is shown, other known forms of couplings may beutilized, such as a ball wedge lock or similar types of quick-disconnectdevices.

To place the ice boring device of the present invention in operation,the nut 40 is removed and the cylindrical cup 37 placed over thethreaded portion of the shaft 41 and bolted in place. The plug'43 isthen inserted into the cup and rotated so that the follower pin 44 isengaged within the cam slot 42. The engine of the snowmobile 34 is thenstarted, causing the auger blade assembly 25 to rotate. The cylindricalhousing 16 is placed on the ice in the location where it is desired tobore a hole. The tubular guide 13 is then grasped and a downwardlydirected force applied, forcing the blade assembly 25 against the 'ice.The cylindrical housing 16 remains on the surface of the ice and servesas a guide to maintain the blade assembly 25 in proper position. It alsoserves to contain the ice chips which form and prevents them from beingthrown laterally. The housing 16 also serves as a guard for the augerblade assembly 25 and prevents injury to the operator. The bladeassembly continues to bore into the ice, and, as it descends into thehole which is being bored, the tube 15 slides over the tubular guide 13,permitting the housing -16 to remain at the surface of the ice so thatit can continue to retain the chips which result from the boringoperation. In a short time a clean hole is bored through the ice whichis suitable for use in fishing. Because snowmobile engines develop asubstantial amount of power, the process may be very quickly done withvery little effort. It has been found that astandard hole can be boredinto ice with the present invention in less than a minute when thethickness of the ice ranges from about 6 inches to about 2 feet.

The ice boring device of the present invention has a number ofadvantages over prior art equipment designed for the same purpose.First, because it is an attachment designed to be used with a separatepower source and does not have its own integral engine, it is very lightand relatively inexpensive. Although it can be utilized in conjunctionwith other types of power sources, it is particularly designed to beused in conjunction with the gasoline engine of a snowmobile, sincesnowmobiles are now widely used to transport fishennen to the proper icefishing site. Since commonly available snowmobile engines developed arelatively large amount of horsepower, the auger operates very rapidlyand very efficiently and without much effort on the part of theoperator. The cylindrical housing 16 serves as a guide for the auger,and additionally protects the operator from injury by preventingphysical contact with the moving auger, as well as from flying chips.Moreover, the device may be readily assembled from standard componentsavailable on the market. The blade assembly may be fabricated fromreadily obtainable materials and requires only a relatively small numberof machine operations. Although in the embodiment shown blades havingsawteeth are utilized, other types may be substituted such as spoon,knife, screw, chippers, or other standard ice-removing blades.

While but one fonn of the invention has been shown and described, otherforms within the spirit and scope of the invention will now be apparentto those skilled in the art. Therefore, the embodiment shown in thedrawings is to be considered as merely setting forth a preferred fonn ofthe ice boring device for illustrative purposes, and is not intended tolimit the scope of the invention herein described, shown and claimed.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of the one explained, change being made as regards the means orstructure herein disclosed, provided those stated by any of thefollowing claims or their equivalent be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. An ice boring apparatus adapted to be connected to a rotary powersource, comprising:

a. a tubular support,

b. a drive shaft rotatably mounted in said support and adapted at oneend to be connected to a flexible drive cable,

c. a rotary blade assembly affixed to the other end of said drive shalt,

d. a housing mounted on said tubular support and adapted to slideaxially thereon comprising:

1. a sleeve slidably mounted on said tubular support,

2. a cylindrical housing adapted to encircle said blade assembly inclose proximity thereto, and

3. means affixing said cylindrical housing to said sleeve, saidcylindrical housing being adapted in its lowermost position to surroundsaid blade assembly in close proximity thereto and to permit said bladeassembly to rotate therein, and said cylindrical housing further beingadapted to engage the surface of the ice during the entire drillingprocess; and

e. a flexible rotary drive shaft connected at one end to the other endof said drive shaft and having coupling means at the other end forconnecting said flexible drive cable to said rotary power source.

2. An ice boring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said driveshaft is journaled in annular bearings mounted in said tubular support.

3. An ice boring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said couplingmeans comprises a cylindrical cup fonn female member having an axialchannel and a cam slot provided in the lip thereof and a cylindricalmale member adapted to be inserted in the axial channel of said femalemember and having a follower pin provided thereon adapted to engage saidcam slot.

4. An ice boring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotaryblade assembly is provided with a sawtooth cutting edge.

5. An ice boring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotaryblade assembly comprises an inverted U-form yoke and a pair ofsemi-circular blades having sawteeth at their cutting edge, one of saidblades being affixed to one end of said yoke and the other blade of saidpair to the other end of said yoke, wherein rotation of said yoke willactuate said blades in ice boring manner. I It i I!

1. An ice boring apparatus adapted to be connected to a rotary powersource, comprising: a. a tubular support, b. a drive shaft rotatablymounted in said support and adapted at one end to be connected to aflexible drive cable, c. a rotary blade assembly affixed to the otherend of said drive shaft, d. a housing mounted on said tubular supportand adapted to slide axially thereon comprising:
 1. a sleeve slidablymounted on said tubular support,
 2. a cylindrical housing adapted toencircle said blade assembly in close proximity thereto, and
 3. meansaffixing said cylindrical housing to said sleeve, said cylindricalhousing being adapted in its lowermost position to surround said bladeassembly in close proximity thereto and to permit said blade assembly torotate therein, and said cylindrical housing further being adapted toengage the surface of the ice during the entire drilling process; and e.a flexible rotary drive shaFt connected at one end to the other end ofsaid drive shaft and having coupling means at the other end forconnecting said flexible drive cable to said rotary power source.
 2. acylindrical housing adapted to encircle said blade assembly in closeproximity thereto, and
 2. An ice boring apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said drive shaft is journaled in annular bearings mounted insaid tubular support.
 3. An ice boring apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said coupling means comprises a cylindrical cup form femalemember having an axial channel and a cam slot provided in the lipthereof and a cylindrical male member adapted to be inserted in theaxial channel of said female member and having a follower pin providedthereon adapted to engage said cam slot.
 3. means affixing saidcylindrical housing to said sleeve, said cylindrical housing beingadapted in its lowermost position to surround said blade assembly inclose proximity thereto and to permit said blade assembly to rotatetherein, and said cylindrical housing further being adapted to engagethe surface of the ice during the entire drilling process; and e. aflexible rotary drive shaFt connected at one end to the other end ofsaid drive shaft and having coupling means at the other end forconnecting said flexible drive cable to said rotary power source.
 4. Anice boring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotary bladeassembly is provided with a sawtooth cutting edge.
 5. An ice boringapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotary blade assemblycomprises an inverted U-form yoke and a pair of semi-circular bladeshaving sawteeth at their cutting edge, one of said blades being affixedto one end of said yoke and the other blade of said pair to the otherend of said yoke, wherein rotation of said yoke will actuate said bladesin ice boring manner.